How to reduce and reuse your waste

Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Here are some ways in which you reduce the amount of waste you produce:

When shopping chose products with least packaging
Buy whole fruits and vegetables to avoid the unnecessary trays and wraps
Buy the large or economy size - this uses less packaging and saves you money
Use a shopping bag or rucksack rather than plastic carrier bags and refuse carrier bags if you don’t need them
Store food in resealable containers rather than using cling film or foil
Cancel junk mail – you can do this by registering with the Mailing Preference Service, who will arrange for your details to be taken off the mailing lists of companies sending unsolicited mail. To register for this service call 020 7291 3310, visit the Mailing Preference Services website or email mps@dma.org.uk
Use re-usable nappies rather than disposable ones – for more information see the Real Nappy Campaign website.
Use rechargeable batteries – this will help reduce your waste and save you money
Compost your garden waste and cardboard in one of our brown bins or take advantage of our special deals on composters and compost at home – see our Garden waste pages for more details
Take your difficult items to a County waste recycling centre for recycling or safe disposal
Set your printer to print both sides of a sheet of paper and photocopiers to copy documents double-sided

Here are some ways in which you reuse items rather than sending them to landfill:

Re-use carrier bags when you go shopping
Save packaging materials for sending parcels
Empty jars and bottle can be used for storage
Repair clothes rather than throwing away
Use backs of paper to rough notes, shopping lists or for children’s drawings
Reuse envelopes by using sticky labels and re-addressing
Pass on any used magazines to friends, hospitals or doctors' surgeries.
Donate old clothes, mobile phones and good quality bric-a -brac to charity. Good quality clothing, shoes and household linen can be placed in carrier bags (not black sacks) and put on top of or next to your green box for collection. See What can and cannot go in a green box for recycling for more details
Donate your major items of furniture to Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) Furniture re-use project – for more details see Free disposal of furniture and electrical goods

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